In Case You Were Wondering, The TSA Frowns On Carrying Skull Fragments In Your Luggage

There are plenty of things you can’t take on planes — weapons, ginormous bottles of shampoo, whathaveyou — and oh yeah, also, human remains. That might seem like a no-brainer, but what if you don’t know you’re toting bones about? Two women apparently didn’t realize they had skull fragments in it, but the Transportation Security Administration soon clued them in.

The women were heading to Baltimore and blithely went through the security line at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, reports the Miami Herald. Their bags were flagged, and TSA agents found the usual stuff: sandals, cosmetics, a piece of sealed pottery, and another piece of pottery that was broken.

Inside that broken pottery? Dirt, rocks… and what seem to be pieces of skull and teeth, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office. The women said they’d been on a trip to Cuba and bought the two pots at a religious shop.

“It’s very possible that they had no idea what was inside,” said an airport spokesman, adding that the women were very accommodating and offered to speak with the investigators.

The women aren’t facing any criminal charges, he says. “Right now we are just asking questions.”

As for the bone bits, it’s unclear so far whether the bones came from a human or an animal. In any case, yuck.